Hi everyone!

Hoooo boy, this fic took me a while. Better late than never, am I right? Well, I suppose I can't say that this fic took me a while—I wrote it all today—it's more that the response to Day 5 took me a while. I started like 5 other fics for this, but I kept writing about 200 words and then getting some serious writers block. I got the idea for this when I was falling asleep last night and I (luckily) didn't forget it when I woke up.

So here's my response to Day 5: Mid/post battle. I hope you like it! Please let me know what you thought in the reviews, and once again, I'm sorry if there's typos.

Much love,

Leisey.

Interlude

Chat Noir didn't really know what he expected when he and Ladybug finally went head-to-head against Hawk Moth, but getting their asses kicked wasn't it.

They were holed up in a secluded part of Hawk Moth's lair. They'd managed to give their enemy the slip, and were currently regrouping; catching their breath and trying to think of a new plan.

It was dark, and there was barely any light in the little corner they huddled in. They'd collapsed on the ground, slumped together and sitting up against the wall; they were exhausted. Neither of them knew how late it was. All they knew what that they'd been battling for hours and had barely made any leeway.

"Why didn't we think he'd make a lot of akumas to guard him?" Chat asked, breathing heavily. "In hindsight, that seems really obvious."

Much like which the Puppeteer, Hawk Moth had turned a bunch of previously-akumatised people back into his 'champions.' Dealing with them made it exceedingly difficult to get close to Hawk Moth and take the butterfly miraculous from him.

Ladybug didn't answer Chat's question. Instead, there was just the sound of huffing and puffing as the two superheroes got their breath back.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

They groaned as their miraculouses started counting down until they detransformed.

"How many transformations have we gone through?" Ladybug asked.

"Too many."

"Do you have any cheese left?"

"A little, but who's to say the others won't find our stash of cheese and cookies?"

"Well, it's not like we can bring food into battle."

They lapsed into silence, neither of them having an answer to the predicament they found themselves in.

"Do you—do you think we underestimated him?" Ladybug eventually spoke up.

Chat contemplated her question. "Maybe we did, but what else could we do? We figured out who he was and we found his lair. Could we really afford to wait any longer than we did? He could have slipped through our fingers if we waited any longer."

"He is slipping through our fingers," she replied. "We haven't got close to him at all."

"Now you're underestimating us," Chat gave her a comforting grin. "We'll get him. I know we will."

"How can you be so confident? Aren't you scared?"

Chat let out a hollow laugh. "Ladybug, I'm terrified."

It was a mark of how serious he was, when he didn't even use one of his many nicknames for her. Seeking some small form of comfort, he reached out a shaky hand to grasp hers; Ladybug held onto it desperately.

"Then how—?"

"How can I say that we'll win? Because I have faith in us. We haven't let Paris down yet, and we're not gonna start now. That doesn't mean I'm not scared—I really am terrified—we've come close to dying a lot of times tonight. I don't want to lose you and I don't want to die, but—"

"But we're Ladybug and Chat Noir, and we'll defeat him. Together," Ladybug finished, sounding more confident than she did moments before. "How do you always know what to say to make me feel better?"

"I could ask the same of you, my Lady."

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"There is one thing," Chat said, tensing at the sound of his miraculous. "If—if something happens to me, I need you to tell my Father."

"Chat, no. You're gonna be fine. We're gonna be fi—"

"I know, but if something does. If I don't make it out of this—"

"Chat, no—"

"Ladybug, please. He's the only family I've got left—I'm all he's got left—if I disappear, he needs to know what happened."

With his night-vision, he had no trouble seeing the tears that started streaming down his partner's face. "Nothing's gonna happen to you," she said, her voice shaky. "I won't let it."

He gently wiped the tears away. "Please don't cry, Buginette."

"How can I not, when you talk like that?"

"I promise I'll try my hardest to come out of this alive, but we both know that you're more imp—"

"If you say I'm more important than you, I'll kill you before Hawk Moth gets a chance!" Ladybug snapped, tears flowing freely. "I'm not more important! We're equals, Chat Noir, so you can throw out any notions you have of noble sacrifices!"

"My Lady—"

"I saw you fade from existence once," she said. "Timebreaker was about to get me, but you jumped in front of me and took the hit instead. You started fading, right there in my arms, and you don't remember it at all."

Chat gaped at her. She was right, he didn't remember that in the slightest. Timebreaker was so long ago, why had she never said anything?

"But I remember it," she continued. "I remember being terrified I wouldn't be able to save you, and I never want to feel that way again. So we're not doing sacrifices, do you understand me?!"

"Ladybug, why didn't you tell me?"

"What would be the point of telling you that you almost died? No, it was better to leave you with the idea of two Ladybugs, instead of how close to death you got."

Chat was silent as he thought over what she said. Eventually he replied, "You still should have told me. That wasn't something you had to carry around on your own. That said, I'm sorry I put you through that."

She leant her head on his shoulder. "It's okay."

It wasn't okay. Not really. Nothing about their current situation was okay. Chat gave a non-committal hum in reply and they lapse back into silence.

He knew they'd have to get up soon. Hawk Moth and his akumas were looking for them; their little sanctuary would be discovered any minute now. He knew—he did—that it was their duty to get up and continue the battle, but he didn't want to. He just wanted a little moment of rest; a break from the fighting. In the dark and with his Lady by his side, Chat could almost pretend that they were curled up on some rooftop, enjoying a quiet moment together after a patrol.

A boom sounded in the distance and the moment of peace shattered. Chat sighed; it was time to get back to the fighting.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Chat Noir?" Ladybug spoke up from beside him, ignoring the frantic chiming of their miraculouses.

He turned to her. "Mm?"

She reached up to cup his face and draw him down into a kiss. Chat stiffened in surprise, not expecting it in the slightest. Unfortunately, Ladybug must have taken his rigidness as a negative, because she drew away instantly.

No, wait—no—come back—what?

Chat couldn't manage to voice any of the thoughts running through his head, because his Lady beat him to it. "I'm sorry," she apologised. "I just wanted to do that at least once, before it was all over. Just—just in case."

Just in case.

Like him, Ladybug was thinking of the possibility that they wouldn't make it out of this. She kissed him, afraid she'd never get another chance. She kissed him. She kissed him!

Without a word, Chat pulled her into his lap and leant down to return the gesture. He kissed her gently, then firmly, then just a tad desperately. If he was to die that night, he'd die with the taste of her on his lips; with the memory of her in his arms and her hands clinging to him.

With the memory of one final confession.

"I love you," he told her, resting his forehead against hers. "I wanted to tell you that at least once, before it was all over. Just in case."

She pulled him into another passionate kiss. "I love you, too," she said when she pulled away. "You're not allowed to die on me."

Despite their situation, despite their dark topic of discussion, Chat beamed. She loved him!

"I'll try not to," he promised.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"But—but if you do," Ladybug cringed, as if the thought pained her. "If you do—if I have to tell your Father—I need your name."

He stared at her, surprised. "Really? You'll do it?"

She nodded. "You better not make me have to go through it, but I will. The same rules apply to you: if something happens to me, you have to tell my parents. Promise?"

"I promise."

She took a deep breath, composing herself. "Okay, who are you, Chat Noir?"

Chat looked down at his miraculous and his final, blinking pawprint. He turned back to his partner and revealed his civilian identity. "My name is Adrien. Adrien Agreste," he said, watching as shock flittered onto his Lady's features. "Plagg, detransform me."

His suit and claws went away in a flash of green and he could just make out Ladybug's astounded face in the darkness. In order to distract himself from his pounding heart and his racing thoughts—holy shit, I just revealed myself!—he gave his kwami some camembert.

"Here you go, Plagg. Eat up."

The kwami took the cheese gladly. "You're doing good, kid," he said, sounding as tired as Adrien felt.

Adrien nervously turned back to his partner and was horrified to see that she was crying again. "Ladybug, why are—?"

"Adrien," she finally spoke up. "You're Adrien. Oh god, you're not allowed to die, okay? You're not. And jeez, I'm crying again. I hate crying."

"I'm sorry—"

"Don't apologise, Chaton. You have nothing to apologise for. It's just—gah, it'll be easier to show you."

Pink light washed over her and suddenly Marinette Dupain-Cheng was sitting in arms. A ladybug-like kwami came out of her earring and immediately flew over to their stash of cookies, murmuring an exhausted, "I'm proud of you two," as she went.

"Marinette," he whispered in awe, tears building in her eyes; if they were happy tears, or terrified tears that he'd lose her—her and Ladybug both, because they were the one incredible person—he didn't know.

"I can't lose you both, okay?" She said, wiping her eyes and unknowingly voicing the same fear he had. "Not Chat and Adrien. Even though you're the same person, but I didn't know that and now I could lose the pair of you and I can't and—"

He kissed her. He tried to put as much emotion as he could into it, and she matched him eagerly. Murmurs of love and passionate kisses were exchanged, and Adrien would have loved to have stayed that way forever. Eventually though, he knew they had to move. The distant noises of the akumas were getting closer; they couldn't afford to stay there any longer.

He reluctantly pulled away from her and got to his feet. "We're going to win," he said as he helped her stand. "We can do it."

Her hands were still in his and she gave him a brave smile. "Together."

"Together," he agreed.

"For Paris."

"For Paris, and for us. Because you just gave me so much more incentive to win."

She blushed, but a teasing grin was on her face when she replied, "Isn't saving the city incentive enough?"

Adrien wrapped an arm around her waist and held her to him. "I do want to save the city, yes. But I love you, and a future where you feel the same and there's no butterfly wielding manic to get in the way of that, is worth fighting for."

Marinette smiled at him, determination burning in her eyes. "Then let's go save Paris, Chaton."

He gave her his best Chat Noir bow and gestured to their kwamis. "After you, My Lady."

Recharged, Tikki and Plagg floated back over to them.

"Are you guys ready to go again?" Marinette asked.

The kwamis nodded.

"We're fine," Tikki said. "You two can do this. Just believe in each other and you'll get through it."

"I'll deny ever saying this, but you two are some of the best Bugs and Kittens we've ever had," Plagg added.

"We're so proud of you. You can do it!" Tikki finished.

"Thank you," the two superheroes chorused.

Another loud bang in the distance signalled that their enemies were getting closer. Marinette and Adrien shared a look; it was now or never.

"Tikki!"

"Plagg!"

"Transform me!"

Suited up and closer than ever before, Ladybug and Chat Noir shared on final glance. So much passed between them: encouragement, love, strength. They would do this. They would win. They would. Side by side, they took off to find their enemy.

Hawk Moth never stood a chance.